KEY THEMES: Justification by Faith, Living by Faith
[Core Gospel Concepts: Justification, Identity in Christ, Nature of Faith, Obedience]
After the time of Noah and the Tower of Babel, there was a man named Abram.
He was 75 years old. His wife, Sarah, was also old. And they had no children. One day, God appeared to Abram and said, “Abram, you must leave your country. You must leave your family. And you must leave your father and go to a place that I will show to you.
And I will make of you a great nation. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. And I will bless all the nations of the world through you.”
So Abram took his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot, and he traveled for many months until God led him to Canaan, the Promised Land. Around that time there was a famine in the land. So Abram took his family to Egypt. There, even though Abram sinned by not trusting the Lord and lying to the king, God, in his mercy, protected him and his family, both from famine and from the Egyptians and even blessed Abram with great wealth during that time.
When Abram and his family returned to Canaan from Egypt, they had many animals. Both Abram and Lot were very rich by this time, and the land was not strong enough to support them both, so arguments broke out among their herdsmen. Abram said to Lot, “Let us not quarrel. We are one family. Look over the land. If you choose to go to the right, I will go to the left. If you choose the left, I will go right.” Lot looked at the whole land and saw that the valley of the Jordan River was very beautiful. It was full of tall grass good for animals and water. So he moved his herds to the valley and settled near the city of Sodom while Abram remained in Canaan, and God promised to give him and his offspring that whole land.
Then God appeared to Abram and said, “Do not be afraid. I am your shield and your reward.” But Abram said, “What good is it if you bless me when I have no son to inherit?” And God took Abram out and showed him the sky. He said, “If you can count the stars, then you will be able to count your descendants.” And Abram believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness.
Then God told Abram to offer a special sacrifice in which God appeared to him as a flame of fire between the two halves of carcasses of several animals and spoke to him of the future.
Optional Memory Verse: Romans 3:21-22a -”But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”